System and method for authoring animated content for web viewable textbook data object

Abstract

An apparatus for creating or modifying browser-renderable teaching objects for use in creating a browser-renderable textbook data object. The apparatus includes a database, a network interface for receiving a source file containing codes for creating or modifying the browser-renderable teaching objects by way of a network, and a processor configured to create or modify the teaching objects based on the codes, and store the teaching objects in the database. A first code instructs the processor to create at least one browser-renderable section object for the textbook data object, the first code including a first attribute configured to instruct the processor to configure the at least one section object such that, when rendered by a browser module, a specified section title is provided at a beginning of the at least one section object; and (2) set of codes configured to instruct the processor to create or modify the teaching objects within the at least one section object.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for creating or modifying a source file comprising codes for instructing an authoring module how to create browser-renderable teaching objects including a browser-renderable animated teaching object configured to generate an animation, comprising:
 a user interface; and   a processor configured to:
 instruct the user interface to display a first input object configured to receive one or more inputs from a user to create one or more animation objects pertaining to the animated teaching object; 
 instruct the user interface to display a second input object for receiving one or more inputs from the user to create one or more animation instructions for the one or more animation objects pertaining to the animated teaching object; and 
 generate the codes associated with the one or more animation objects and the one or more animation instructions. 
   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface and generate the codes under a control of a browser module. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to instruct the user interface to display the generated codes for copying and pasting to the source file. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to create or modify the source file based on the generated codes. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more animation objects comprises a text object including text. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a third input object for receiving one or more inputs from the user to set one or more attributes of the text object. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more attributes of the text object comprises one or more of the following:
 a background color for a background upon which the text is overlaid;   a border color for a border surrounding the text;   an opacity for the text object;   a radius of corners of the border surrounding the text;   a position of the text object within a preview animation pane displayed by the user interface;   a font color for the text;   a font size for the text;   a font family for the text;   a text alignment for the text; and   a setting indicating whether to the text is italicized.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more animation objects comprises a graphics object including a graphics design. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a third input object for receiving one or more inputs from the user to set one or more attributes of the graphics object. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more attributes of the text object comprises one or more of the following:
 a background color for a background upon which the graphics design is overlaid;   a border color for a border surrounding the graphics design;   an opacity for the graphics object;   a radius of corners of the border surrounding the graphics design; and   a position of the graphics object within a preview animation pane displayed by the user interface.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more animation instructions comprises a move instruction for one of the animation objects. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a third input object for receiving one or more inputs from the user of an amount of movement of the animation object pursuant to the move instruction. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the third input object comprises:
 a first input sub-object to receive a first value indicating a horizontal position within a preview animation pane to which the animation object is to be moved pursuant to the move instruction; and   a second input sub-object to receive a second value indicating a vertical position within the preview animation pane to which the animation object is to be moved pursuant to the move instruction.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is configured to detect a select and drag of the animation object and a subsequent deselecting of the animation object, wherein the move instruction comprises moving the animation object to a position of the animation object at the unselecting of the animation object. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more animation instructions comprises a fade instruction for one of the animation objects. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a third input object for receiving one or more inputs from the user of a degree of opacity for the animation object pursuant to the fade instruction. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more animation instructions comprises a resize instruction for one of the animation objects. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a third input object for receiving one or more inputs from the user of first and second values indicating a new height and a new width for the animation object pursuant to the resize instruction. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a list of animation instructions in chronological order of execution pursuant to the animation. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a third input object for receiving one or more inputs from the user of a timing parameter associated with each of the animation instructions, the timing parameter specifying a timing for the execution of the corresponding animation instruction pursuant to the animation. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a third input object for receiving one or more inputs from the user for indicating a first set of the chronological animation instructions belonging to a first scene and a second set of the chronological animation instructions belonging to a second scene, wherein the animation is configured to stop at an end of the first scene and requires an input from a user to initiate a start of the second scene. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a static view of the animation in an animation preview pane in response to a selection action by the user of one of the animation instructions of the list, wherein the static view depicts the animation immediately after the execution of the selected animation instruction. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a third input object in response to a selection action by the user of one of the animation instructions of the list, wherein the third input object is configured to receive one or more inputs from the user of at least one attribute of the selected animation instruction. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a list of one or more references to the one or more animation objects, respectively. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the list includes references to a plurality of the animation objects illustrated as being stacked in a preview animation pane, and wherein an order of the references to the stacked objects are from most foreground to most background or from most background to most foreground. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the processor is configured to detect a select and drag of one of the references to the stacked animation objects within the list and a subsequent unselecting of the one of the references within the list by a pointing device of the user interface, the processor configured to instruct the display to change the viewing of the corresponding one of the stacked animation object based on a position within the list at which the unselecting of the one of the references was detected. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the processor is configured to detect a selection of one of the animation objects by detecting a selection of the reference to the one of the animation objects or by detecting a selection of the one of the animation objects in a preview animation pane. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the codes are configured to instruct the authoring module to configure the animated teaching object such that, when rendered by a browser module, a predetermined static view of the animation is provided prior to the animated teaching object being initiated, wherein the predetermined static view illustrates the animation immediately after or before the execution of a predetermined one of the animation instructions. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a third input object for receiving one or more inputs from the user to initiate a previewing of the animation in a preview animation pane. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to instruct the user interface to display a third input object for receiving a plurality of inputs from the user to initiate a previewing of a plurality of scenes of the animation in a preview animation pane, respectively. 
     
     
         31 . An apparatus for creating or modifying a source file comprising codes for instructing an authoring module as to how to create browser-renderable teaching objects including a browser-renderable animated teaching object configured to generate an animation, comprising:
 a user interface; and   a processor configured to:
 instruct the user interface to display a first input object configured to receive the codes from a user, the codes are configured to create one or more animation objects and one or more animation instructions for the one or more animation objects pursuant to the animation; 
 instruct the user interface to display an animation preview pane for illustrating the animation based on the codes; 
 instruct the user interface to display an input object for receiving one or more modifications to the animation, wherein the one or more modifications comprises one or more of the following:
 a modification of at least one attribute of the one or more animation objects; 
 a modification of at least one attribute of the one or more animation instructions; 
 a deletion of at least one of the one or more animation objects; 
 a deletion of at least one or more of the animation instructions; 
 an addition of at least one or more animation objects; 
 an addition of at least one or more animation objects; 
 
   modify the codes based on the one or more modifications, wherein the modified codes are used to create or modify the source file.